Stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission

ABSTRACT

A stabilizer to aid in the installation and removal of transmissions from vehicles is a receptacle with a bottom and a sidewall. The sidewall is shaped and of sufficient strength to support the underside of the transmission while the bottom is flat so as to rest in a stable manner on the lift platform of a hydraulic jack. The stabilizer allows one person to quickly and safely remove a transmission from a vehicle for repair, then re-install the transmission when repaired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to tools. More specifically, the device is a tool used to support and stabilize a vehicle transmission during installation and removal of the transmission from the vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many automotive transmissions have removable access openings underneath the transmission housing to allow the transmission to be inspected for normal wear. However, if repair work is needed, the access opening is usually not large enough for access to perform the repair work. The transmission must be removed from the underside of the vehicle in order for repair work to be accomplished.

Modern vehicle transmissions, and in particular the E40D transmission, are very large and may weigh hundreds of pounds. Due to this weight, the transmission must be supported mechanically, usually through a hydraulic jack. The jack rests on the floor and has an arm extending from it that can be hydraulically raised and lowered. The arm usually has a flat lift platform on its free end, onto which the objects to be lifted are placed.

Often, modern transmissions such as the E40D do not have flat surfaces on which they can be set in a stable manner. Therefore, they are very unstable when set onto the flat lift platform on the hydraulic jack. In order to stabilize the transmission on the jack, either several people are required to hold the bulky transmission or the transmission is bolted or chained to an adapter that is then bolted onto the lift platform. If workers are called away from other tasks to help hold a transmission, they are not completing the tasks they abandoned as quickly. During a transmission removal and installation process, it takes time to bolt the transmission onto the adaptor, bolt the adaptor onto the lift, unbolt the transmission from the adaptor once removed from the vehicle, then repeat the process in reverse to re-install the transmission. For a busy automotive repair shop, both of these methods are inefficient and waste valuable man-hours during a typical transmission repair service.

Thus a stabilizer that aids in the installation and removal of transmissions, such as E40D transmissions, from vehicles solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The stabilizer that aids in the installation and removal of transmissions, for example, the E40D, from vehicles is a receptacle with a bottom and a sidewall. The sidewall is shaped to support the underside of the transmission. When the transmission is set in the stabilizer, the top edge of the sidewall conforms snugly to the underside of the transmission. The route the top edge of the sidewall takes around the transmission supports the uneven weight of the transmission and allows that weight to be spread out more smoothly across the bottom of the stabilizer.

The bottom of the stabilizer is flat so as to rest in a stable manner on the lift platform of a hydraulic jack. The stabilizer may rest on the lift platform without being bolted to the lift platform. Because the user does not need to bolt the stabilizer to the platform, the transmission can be changed quickly and the hydraulic jack can be used for other purposes, and be transported away in a more efficient manner. The stabilizer is lightweight, but sturdy enough to support the weight of a transmission. The transmission may also be kept in the stabilizer while the transmission is out of the vehicle but not being worked on, which may help to prevent the transmission from being accidentally knocked over while positioned in a busy workplace.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to allow one person to quickly and safely remove a transmission from a vehicle for repair, then re-install the transmission when repaired.

This and other aspects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a stabilizer that aids in the installation and removal of transmissions from vehicles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stabilizer that aids in the installation and removal of transmissions from vehicles according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a transmission stabilizer, designated generally as 10 in the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the stabilizer 10 is designed to support a transmission T during the removal and installation of the transmission T from a vehicle. One such type of transmission to be supported by device 10 could be the E40D, for example. The stabilizer 10 has a bottom 12 that is flat so that the bottom 12 may rest safely on the lift platform of a hydraulic jack L.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sidewall 14 extends around the bottom 12 and projects upwardly therefrom. The transmission T rests in the stabilizer 10 such that the top edge 16 of the sidewall 14 supports the transmission T. The top edge 16 of the sidewall 14 is shaped so that the top edge 16 supports the transmission T in a balanced, stable manner.

When a transmission T, such as an E40D, must be repaired, the stabilizer 10 is placed on the lift platform of a hydraulic jack L, then raised until it is positioned just under the transmission T. The transmission T is removed from the vehicle and placed in the stabilizer 10, as shown in FIG. 1. The hydraulic jack L then lowers the stabilizer 10 and transmission T to the floor. The transmission T may then be repaired before being installed back into the vehicle in the reverse process.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission from vehicles, comprising a bottom wall and a sidewall extending upwardly from and around said bottom wall, wherein said sidewall is shaped and of sufficient strength to support a transmission in a balanced, secure, stable position.
 2. The stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission from vehicles as recited in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall has a substantially planar contour.
 3. The stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission from vehicles as recited in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall has a forward portion longitudinally opposed from a rear portion, a width associated with said forward portion being less than a width associated with said rear portion.
 4. The stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission from vehicles as recited in claim 3, wherein said bottom wall has a proximal edge laterally opposed from a distal edge, a length associated with said proximal edge being greater than a length associated with said distal edge.
 5. The stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission from vehicles as recited in claim 1, wherein said sidewall extends continuously about a periphery of said bottom wall. 